


If there's Something Strange in the Neighborhood

by PattRose



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Angst and Humor, Language, M/M, Sentinel Bingo Card
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2019-04-20 18:01:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14266575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PattRose/pseuds/PattRose
Summary: Blair is hearing ghostly tales from the neighbors.  Then he finds out Jim is going to be out of town for four days.  What will he do all by himself?Sentinel BingoPrompt: Strange





	If there's Something Strange in the Neighborhood

If there’s Something Strange in the Neighborhood  
By PattRose  
Summary: Blair is hearing ghostly tales from the neighbors. Then he finds out Jim is going to be out of town for four days. What will he do all by himself?  
Genre: Slash  
Rating: Teen  
Prompt: Strange  
Warning: Ghost talk, language  
Word Count: 2444  
Beta: Mary Browne. (Thank you, sweetie.)

 

Blair was excited to get home because Jim told him he had something to talk to him about. Blair was hoping that Jim would want to have a ceremony for the two of them to bless their union. Blair understood they couldn’t get married but they could still have a nice celebration with their friends and family. Perhaps presents would be involved. This made Blair snicker softly to himself. 

_What if that’s not what he wants to talk about?_ Blair wondered as he got out of his car and walked in the front door of the building. Mrs. Chambers was standing there and she asked, “Blair, honey, has everything been all right with you and Jim?”

“Everything’s great, Mrs. Chambers. Why do you ask?”

“We all heard some odd noises coming from your apartment today. We knocked and they stopped. The noises, I mean. But no one was there, just noises.”

“I don’t understand… Jim should have been there all day long.”

“Honey, his truck isn’t outside or anything. But we called him and told him someone was in the apartment. He’s coming home now.”

Blair was shocked. Should he wait for Jim? Or should he go in alone? Blair was still considering the options when Mr. Mason came walking out of his apartment. 

“Blair, did Mrs. Chambers tell you about the noises coming from your apartment?” 

“Yes, I’m going to go upstairs and check the place out right now. Excuse me,” Blair said, sweetly as he started for the elevator. 

Mrs. Chambers and Mr. Mason both got on the elevator with Blair.

“You’re not going in alone, Blair,” Mrs. Chambers said. “We’ll go with you and we’ll see if anything is out of the ordinary.”

“I’m fine to check out the loft by myself, you two. Thank you for being so concerned, but everything will be fine.”

“It can’t hurt for us to go with you. At least until Jim arrives home,” Mr. Mason said, seriously. 

“Okay, fine. You two can be my backup,” Blair teased. 

“We’re not kidding, Blair. The noises were very disturbing and it wasn’t just us that heard them. Everyone that was home today came out and looked to see what was going on. Whatever it is, it might not be friendly,” Mr. Mason replied. 

Blair got off the elevator and walked to his front door. He opened it and found himself almost nervous. When he opened the front door, he saw the mess immediately. Mrs. Chambers said, “Blair, honey, let’s wait for Jim.”

“I think you might be right. They’ll need to take prints and stuff like that. We’ll only mess that up. I’ll sit right up here on the top stair and wait for Jim to get home.”

“Now you’re making sense, young man,” Mr. Mason said, happily. 

They all sat on the top stair and waited for Jim. Suddenly there was a loud noise from the loft that sounded like moving furniture. Heavy furniture. Blair jumped up and so did his fellow neighbors. 

Blair’s eyes were as big as saucers when he asked, “Did you all hear that?”

“Of course we did, honey, we’re sitting right here with you.”

“Call Jim,” Mr. Mason suggested. 

Blair pulled his cell phone out and realized it had been shut off. There were like six calls from Jim. Blair dialed Jim’s number and heard, “It would help if you switched your fucking phone on, Sandburg.”

Blair decided to whisper. “Don’t yell at me. There is someone in the loft right now. They are moving things around. Mr. Mason and Mrs. Chambers made me wait outside. The loft is a mess, man.”

“Don’t go near it again. Wait downstairs. I mean it, Blair and take the neighbors with you.”

“Okay, we’ll wait downstairs. See you soon, right?”

“I’m about five minutes away. Simon and Megan are on their way over too. Now, get downstairs.”

“I love you,” Blair whispered. 

“I love you too, Chief. Now hurry up and move.”

Both men closed their cells and Blair said, “We need to get downstairs. Jim will be here in five minutes.” Blair didn’t know why, but he whispered the entire sentence. The three of them walked to the elevator and loud banging came from the loft. When the doors of the elevator opened, all three jumped on. Blair pushed the button three times to make sure it understood where to go. 

When it arrived downstairs, they rushed off the elevator and went to the front door. As they were heading out of the building, Jim was heading in. He hugged Blair, quick like and said, “Stay down here.”

Blair held on to Jim’s hand and said, “Wait for Simon. It’s something weird, Jim.”

“They might be awhile, I want to check our place out.”

“Jim, please wait?” Mrs. Chambers asked. 

“What in the world has you all so upset?” Jim asked, no one in particular. 

“Jim, I don’t think it’s a person,” Blair said. 

“You think an animal got in?” Jim asked. 

Mr. Mason said, “It doesn’t sound like an animal either.”

“Just tell me what you think it is and we’ll go from there,” Jim ordered. 

Mrs. Chambers said, “We all think it’s a ghost.”

Jim looked at all three of them oddly and realized they were very serious. Then he couldn’t help it. He started laughing. 

“Oh really nice, Jim. Just wait for Simon and Megan. Then you tell me what it is,” Blair said, angrily. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh out loud. I meant to do it in my head. What are you on, Blair? You think a ghost is upstairs in our loft moving furniture around?”

“I thought you of all people might be a little more open minded to the ghost theory,” Blair said. 

Mr. Mason asked, “Have you seen a ghost before, Jim? Tell us all about it.”

“I’ve never seen a ghost, Mr. Mason. Now, I’m going upstairs to check out my home. Blair you stay here with the neighbors. And if I holler, call the ghost busters.”

“Har, har, har… This isn’t funny, Jim. Megan and Simon just drove up. Wait for them.”

“Ya think they’ll know what to do with a ghost, Blair?” 

Blair closed his mouth and didn’t say a word. The neighbors were giving Jim an evil stare when Simon and Megan walked in. 

“What’s going on, Jim?” Simon asked. 

“Why don’t you ask Blair?”

“Sandy, what’s going on here?”

“I don’t know, Connor. There is someone up in the loft, but yet no one saw anyone go up or down. We don’t know what’s going on up there.”

“Well, Sandy, did you walk in?”

“Yes, but it was a mess and I didn’t want to disturb evidence. So we all left right away.”

“Simon, would you like to go up with me now?” Jim asked. 

“I’m surprised you’re not already up there,” Simon said as he and Megan followed Jim up the stairs. 

“I’ll explain later. Let’s get up there and see what’s going on.”

“Chief, you stay down here. Mrs. Chambers, can Blair stay with you until I get done checking the loft out?”

“Of course he can, Jim. We’ll be right inside my apartment.”

Blair was fuming by this time. He didn’t need Mrs. Chambers to watch him, damn it. 

Suddenly they all heard a loud roar of some type of animal or something. Jim, Simon and Megan started up the stairs and Blair said, “I’m coming too.”

Megan said, “Stay right behind me, Sandy.”

He turned to his neighbors and said, “I’ll be back and I’ll fill you in.”

“You better,” they both called out. 

They got upstairs and Jim said, “I hear nothing now. All the noise has stopped. Be careful. If a wild animal got in, he might attack. I’d hate to have to kill it.”

Blair just rolled his eyes. Blair knew it wasn’t a wild animal. He knew it wasn’t a person. He didn’t know what exactly they were dealing with, but he thought the ghostbusters might be a good call to make.

Jim unlocked the door and they got first look at the loft. Everything was over turned and moved from one room to the next. All three detectives went with guns drawn and checked the place out. There was no one in the apartment. No windows were open or doors. Even the balcony doors were closed and locked from the inside. 

“Oh my god, look at all our family pictures and personal pictures. They are all broken. Someone doesn’t like us, Jim.”

“I see that, Blair. I’d say, something got in while we were gone and did this trying to get out.”

“I see. And how did it get out and lock the doors behind it?” Blair asked. 

Simon put his gun away and said, “He’s got a point, Jim. Tell me, Blair, what do you think it was.”

“Has anyone died while in prison lately that you put away?”

Megan looked at him oddly and asked, “What difference does that make?”

Jim said, “He thinks it’s a ghost.”

Simon walked around the room and looked at all the damage done and said, “It is sort of weird, Jim.”

“Oh god, don’t tell me you’re buying the ghost story.”

Megan said, “What else could it be, Jimbo? Someone was very pissed off at you, but yet, Blair’s office is all in one piece. So it’s someone that doesn’t like you.”

“Jim, maybe you shouldn’t go tonight,” Simon suggested. 

Blair was freaking out. “Go where?”

“I asked him to go tonight for a convention that starts tomorrow morning at 8:00 am. He was supposed to be there for four days. Actually, he should have left about an hour ago.”

“So, Simon, you’re going to leave all this mess for me to clean up? And what if this something comes back? What do I do on my own?”

Jim looked out the window out of Blair’s office and saw a man standing there. He was watching the loft windows. Jim could see him clearly, while he couldn’t see Jim from the street at all. 

“Sir, there is a man watching the windows, on the street on the side of the building. He might know what’s going on.”

Blair asked, “Does he look familiar?”

“Yes, it’s a man from an old case. I can’t think of his name right now, but he wasn’t happy with me at all. But he’s alive, Chief. I can hear his heartbeat pounding from up here. I think he had something to do with our apartment.”

“So there was no ghost?” Blair asked, sounding very disappointed. 

Simon snickered and said, “None that we know of anyhow, Sandburg.”

“Chief, you stay here. Megan you take the front parking lot, Simon you take the back parking lot and I’ll go out Blair’s office window. Maybe he won’t see me.”

Blair looked at him like he had lost brain cells in the last ten minutes. “Jim, if you go out that way he’s going to see you. Go out the basement door. It’s not far from where he is standing.”

“Good idea, Chief. Like I said, you stay here.”

“Can I start cleaning things up?” Blair asked. 

Simon, Megan and Jim all shouted, “No!”

“All right, already. Go do your thing.”

Blair sat down on one the dining room chairs that was still upright. He waited patiently until he heard sirens and figured they got their man. 

About 30 minutes later, Jim came walking in. “Would you like to go to the station with me? We have a team here that is going to go through our place looking for his prints. You can’t stay here while they’re working. Unless you’re rather stay with Mrs. Chambers,” Jim teased. 

“Very funny. Yes, I’ll go with you. Why did he do this and how did he get in and out of the place without leaving anything open?”

“I arrested him for a B&E about 2 years ago. He just got out of prison and he wanted to get back at me. So he’s good at what he does.”

“I’m sorry I got so carried away. It just seemed so strange and unusual that I let my imagination get away from me.” 

“It’s okay, Chief. I was beginning to worry about things myself.”

“I think he was trying to scare you,” Blair guessed. 

“Well, he did that. Now let’s get down to the station and get our report done and then we can come back and clean up the apartment again.”

*

Blair typed up all the reports for Jim so they wouldn’t have to be there all night. Come to find out, Mike Mitchell had hated Jim so much for ruining his life that he was going to ruin Jim’s. He had broken in and used the spare key at the loft to get out. And then he snuck down the elevator to the basement and out the doors. Blair was so relieved about it not being a ghost that he couldn’t really stay mad at the man. Okay, maybe a little bit.

Jim walked up to the desk and asked, “You done, partner?”

“Are we leaving now? I just put our papers in to Simon’s in box. What are we doing now?”

“I still have to go to Seattle for the convention. We need to get that place cleaned up for you.”

When they got into the truck, Blair turned to Jim and said, “I thought it might be something else you had to ask me about tonight.”

“Oh really? What?”

“It was something romantic on my mind. I’m just glad you’re okay and I’m okay. It doesn’t matter now.”

“How would you like to have a small celebration at the loft for our friends and family to help us make our special Anniversary date?”

“Are you serious? Yes, I would love it.”

“Under one condition. You call Simon up and talk him out of making me go to Seattle. And also giving us the next two days off to get the loft in order.”

“Consider it done, Jim. Simon is putty in my hands, man.”

Jim laughed as they drove home. But Blair was right. Simon gave them four days off and no trip to Seattle. Blair still had it. 

The end


End file.
